Medical savings accounts in Singapore: how much is adequate?

While many studies have examined the cost-containment aspect of medical savings accounts (MSA), few have investigated the adequacy of MSA to finance the health care expenditure. This paper estimates the present value of lifetime healthcare expenses (PVHE) of the Singaporean male and female elderly u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Health Economics 2005-09, Vol.24 (5), p.855-875
Main Authors: Chia, Ngee-Choon, Tsui, Albert K.C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cohort survival probabilities
Economic theory
Elderly people
Expenditures
Female
Health administration
Health care
Health care expenditures
Health costs
Health economics
Health Expenditures - trends
Health insurance
Health policy
Humans
Male
Medical care
Medical savings accounts
Medical Savings Accounts - economics
Medical Savings Accounts - statistics & numerical data
Medical Savings Accounts - utilization
Medical treatment
Middle Aged
Older people
Personal expenditure
Policy analysis
Present value of lifetime healthcare expense
Public expenditure
Retirement
Savings
Singapore
Stochastic models
Studies
Survival analysis
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Summary:While many studies have examined the cost-containment aspect of medical savings accounts (MSA), few have investigated the adequacy of MSA to finance the health care expenditure. This paper estimates the present value of lifetime healthcare expenses (PVHE) of the Singaporean male and female elderly upon retirement at age 62. The estimation involves calibrating the stream of future healthcare expenditure; stochastic forecasting of cohort survival probabilities; discounting the projected lifetime healthcare expenditure. Estimated values of the PVHE under various scenarios are used to assess the adequacy of the government-decreed minimum saving to be maintained in the MSA.
ISSN:0167-6296
0167-6269
1879-1646
DOI:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2005.01.005